Thews



C. D. MATTHEWS.

THREAD CUTTING BLADE FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 18. 1915.

1 1 95,834 Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

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W/TNESSES I l/VVE/VTOR y CDMOWMWS V I By 4 TTORNEYS I 'rnnws, a citizenof the United States, and

ATEW I CHARLES IDAVES MATTHEWS, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF '10 HENRY E. GUMBEL, OF 'NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

THREAD-CUTTING BLADE non snwrne-nncninns.

specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 12 M65 Application filedAugust 18, 1915. Serial No. 46,077.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. .MAT-

a resident of-New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have in vented a new and Improved Thread-Cutting Blade forSewing-Machines, of which. the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to a thread cutting attachment for sewingmachines and has for its principal object to provide a device of thischaracter which is adapted to be applied to the foot or cloth plate ofasewing machine so as to enable the operator to quickly and convenientlycutthe thread and to avoid undue waste of the latter, the cutting devicebeing in the form of'a blade, which is set into and extendslongitudinally of a slot in the plate and is secured to the under sideof the latter in any desired manner, with the free end of the cutterdisposed above theplate and suitably shaped so that the threads can beengaged under the cutter, which has its lower edge sharpened andinclined at a suitable angle, so that by drawing the threadlongitudinally of the cutter the thread will be effectively cut. Theshape, angle and length of the cutter may be varied, and its locationwith respect to the needle may be determined as convenience andefliciency dictates.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference is to behad to the following description and claims taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view of a sewing machine showing the thread cutter appliedto the cloth plate; Fig. 2'is a plan view of the cutter and the plate towhich it is attached; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 isan enlarged sectional view on theline 4-4, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectionalview on the line 5.-5, Fig. l; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of thecutter or blade depreferably made of a single piece of metal andconsists of a vertical blade 1 having at one end a laterally extendingattaching base 2 formed with bifurcations 3, and on the free end of thetip of the blade is a laterally projecting lug i which is rounded andserves to prevent the material being sewed from catching on the blade,the upper edge of the latter being also rounded at 5 for the .samepurpose. The bottom edge 6 of the other words, it may be applied to theright or left of the needle D of the sewing machine, and it is mountedin such a manner that the free end extends rearwardly or away from theoperator. The plate to which the cutting device is attached has a slot 7which is considerably wider than the blade 1, so that there is no dangerof dirt accumulating and preventing the efiective cutting of the thread.The blade 1 is disposed in a vertical plane and its cutting edge 6inclines downwardly in a forward direction so that,

as thethread is engaged under the tip of the cutter and drawn forwardlytoward the operator, the tension on the thread is increased so that thecutting edge will sever the thread. The base portion 2 may be fastenedby one of the screws 8 which secure the cleat or retaining member 9 tothe plate B, as shown in Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, but, if desired, thebase member 2 may extend in the same direction as the lug 4, as in Fig.7, and be secured by a separate screw 10, the bifurcations 3 of the basemember straddling the screw, as shown.

In using the cutter after the sewing is finished, the .work is drawnaway from the needle so as to pull out the threads a short distance, andthen the threads are engaged under the tip of the blade. The operator Athen draws the work toward her and causes the thread to slip under thecutting edge 6, which, by its angle, causes the tension of the thread toincrease, and thereby the cutting edge severs the thread. As the cuttingedge llld is of considerable length it will be efi'ective even after thefront or tip portion becomes dull. The blade is suitably spaced from theneedle D and presser foot E, so that after the threads are cut the endswill be of sufficient length to be ready for the next sewing operation.

Although the cutter is shown in the cloth and throat plate of themachine it is to be understood that it may be mounted at a convenientpoint in the bed plate F, if desired. From the foregoing descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of theconstruction and method of operation will be readily understood by thoseskilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I havedescribed the principle of operation, together with the device whichInow consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have itunderstood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that suchchanges may be made when esired as fall within the scope of the appen edclaims.

"from catching on the blade, the base end of the blade being providedwith an anchoring member, and the bottom edge of the blade beinginclined and sharpened, whereby the thread engaged under the blade canbe cut by being drawn longitudinally of the blade.

- 3. A thread cutting attachment of the class described, comprising avertical blade having a downwardly inclined bottom cutting edge, alaterally projecting anchoring member on the base'end of the blade, anda flat horizontal guard member on the tip end of the blade and extendinglaterally therefrom and rounded for preventing the work from beingcaught thereon, the cutting edge inclining upwardly from the base end ofthe blade to the tip.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two-subscribingwitnesses.

CHARLES DAVES MATTHEWS.

Witnesses:

ULYSSES DAVID CHABERT, E. G. HANSON.

